


The Ring

by pudding (pudding_and_poison)



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Fluff, Kinda, Love Confessions, M/M, No Spoilers, Poe Dameron's Jacket, after tfa, not compatible with tlj, poe dameron's ring
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-18
Updated: 2017-12-18
Packaged: 2019-02-16 18:01:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,329
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13059237
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pudding_and_poison/pseuds/pudding
Summary: It was just ring right? Just a little good luck charm as Poe had put it. Still, whenever someone saw it their reactions reached from stunned silence to happy outbursts. Maybe that ring might not have been such a small thing as Poe wanted him to think it was...





	The Ring

**Author's Note:**

> Heya, I haven't written much lately but wrote all this down in merely three days. So if you find mistakes, please let me know. :D  
> You can also come talk to me on tumblr: the-pudding-is-a-lie. I hope you enjoy this little thing. Let me know what you think. ❤
> 
> \- The Pudding

There was light. Faint and far away. It promised warmth in the darkness he floated in, warmth and safety. Finn reached out for it and his eyes fluttered open.

 

Poe was there, always there when he opened his eyes, sitting next to his bed and talking. He was always talking to him, even though Finn couldn’t answer because of the apparatus fixed to his face, covering his mouth and allowing him to breathe. Even if it wasn’t for the device, Finn probably wouldn’t have the strength to reply anyway. Still, Poe talked to him, told him about his day, about BB-8’s little adventures, about the people on the base. How hard it had been to find good thread, he had to ask around for a while but finally got his hands on a roll of strong, robust string. He told him how he’d ask one of the other pilots to teach him the best stitch for fixing the jacket. Finn could keep it of course, there was no reason to worry. He wouldn’t take it back, he was just fixing it so as soon as Finn could get up again he could wear it, Poe was looking forward to that, it really did suit Finn so well.

 

Finn let it all just wash over him, glad that the sound of Poe’s voice would disturb the silence, reach out for him in his dreams and pull him back from the brink of death bit by bit. If he could have, Finn would have thanked him with a smile.

 

~

 

“- the axle after all, can you believe that? All that work for naught because the display showed these misleading notifications! We should really try to update our warning symbols and find some kind of standard for them... Anyway, about your artificial spine, we shou- what… did you just? What did you just say?” Poe’s eyes were wide when they looked up from the jacket in his lap to Finn’s face, his mouth standing open a bit.

 

“You’re right, we really should,” Finn managed to garble the words into the mask a second time, voice hoarse and throat itching as if all of Jakku’s sand had gone through it at least twice. It hurt, even more so when his dry lips stretched into a small smile, a weak reflection of the expression on Poe’s face. It was worth it though. A loud laugh, a wide grin, lots of teeth that got flashed at him and tears. There were tears all of a sudden.

 

Finn’s brows furrowed when Poe’s laugh turned into a sob, stress and worry finally finding release. He managed to inch his hand forward a bit, just enough to reach where Poe’s head had come to rest on his mattress, almost completely hidden by shaking arms and trembling hands. Finn raised his index finger, caught one of the dark curls and tugged carefully at the strand. It was the smallest of contact, the only kind Finn was capable of at that time. But as tiny as it was, during that moment it seemed to be enough.

 

~

 

“Ah, hey Poe! Before you leave-” Finn sat up to tug the jacket lying across his legs up to his hips so he could reach into one of the pockets. His fingers searched and fumbled a bit before they bumped into the small object. He had found it a few days ago after Poe had finished fixing the back of the jacket and had handed it over to Finn again. He was certain it hadn’t been in there before.

 

“See, I found this ring. It’s yours, isn’t it?” Finn held out his hand, ring and the chain it was attached to resting on his palm.

 

“Oh yeah, that’s mine” Poe nodded after glancing at the ring for a moment, not showing any indications of intending to take it back. He didn’t seem all too surprised about the whereabouts of it as well. Finn gave him wary look.

 

“Sooo… You gonna take it or not?”

 

“Huh? I’m not. You keep it. Come on, Finn, just take it. It’s no big deal, just a little lucky charm to help with your recovery, alright? Here you go.” He took the chain and before Finn could voice any more protests, Poe had already fastened it around his neck and the ring came to rest against his chest. It felt surprisingly wrong there.

 

“Uhm, thanks?” Finn had to search for words, helpless gestures of his hands guiding him along,  “I’ll take it but - Poe? You gotta stop giving me your stuff, alright? You’ll end up with nothing left…”

 

“Don’t worry about it just get well soon.” Poe’s smile was as dazzling as always, leaving no room for further doubt. Finn could only grumble quietly at Poe’s back when the pilot disappeared through the door and went back to his duties and the bustling life on base.

 

~

 

No stitches were visible but it still felt a bit bumpy under his finger tips, no matter how often he let them trail over the new seam holding the back of the jacket together. Maybe one day he’d done it often enough to end up with leather rubbed smooth and even, leaving no trace behind of what had happened in that forest in snow and darkness.

 

“Finn? Hey, Finn? You still with me?”

 

“Ah sorry, Jess! Just got lost in some thoughts, sorry,” he hurried to apologize to the pilot who had taken up Poe’s place next to his bed. Since his condition had improved and he’d started to literally get back on his feet, Poe’s visits had lessened and become irregular. He knew Poe was a busy man burdened with duties and responsibilities and he knew that Poe had spent every free second by his side, more times than not bringing work with him. He knew all that. Yet, he couldn’t help feeling a bit lonely.

 

“Sorry,” he repeated rubbing over his forehead with one hand while pushing the jacket farther away with the other one, “You were saying?”

 

“I said that this part can vary from droid to droid. Binary might not appear like that at first but it is a versatile language-” Jessica took up her teaching just to interrupt herself with a huff, “Oh kriff, just tell me what’s on your mind, will you? Is it about not being able to walk yet? You’ll get there, don’t worry about it. Three days ago you couldn’t even stand, give yourself and your body some time to recover!”

 

“Actually… I wasn’t thinking about that.” Finn hesitated. He could feel the ring resting against his chest underneath his shirt. It was still a weird presence to him, a weight that seemed too light and too heavy at the same time. Just like the silence that stretched between him and Jessica when she didn’t push him to talk about things he wasn’t ready to voice. He looked down onto his hands and cleared his throat.

 

“I was just thinking about something I could give to Poe to thank him for… everything. Also, he gave me this,” said Finn reaching underneath his shirt to pull out the ring so Jessica could see it, “And I have no idea whatsoever what you are supposed to give someone who gave you a ring.”

 

More silence. When Finn glanced at Jessica her eyes were narrowed and fixed firmly onto the ring dangling from Finn’s neck.

 

“He… gave you that ring?” She finally asked.

 

“Yeah.” Finn confirmed with a nod.

 

“He really gave it to you?”

 

“Yeah.” Another nod, slower this time, a bit hesitant. It was just ring right? Just a little good luck charm as Poe had put it.

 

“That ring?”

 

“Jessica?” Finn raised his eyebrows in confusion but at least she seemed to snap out of it. Her eyes flickered up to his face again as she leaned back into her chair. 

 

“Uhm-huh!” She gestured vaguely with her hand in her search for words. “I was just surprised that’s all, um - About a gift for Poe, I actually don’t know! Poe is happy about a lot of things, small things mostly. But I guess actions mean more to him than things anyway so yeah, sorry, I can’t really help you so err... Let’s get back to our lesson?”

 

Finn reached for the ring, hiding it under his shirt again before he agreed with another slow nod. It was the first time he got the hunch that that ring might not have been such a small thing as Poe wanted him to think it was.

 

~

 

It took another few days of very tentative first steps; Poe holding his hands as helpful guide, Finn clutching at his arms whenever his feet slipped - but soon he was able and allowed to leave the bed for longer periods of time. Again, as soon as his condition improved, Poe wouldn’t show up as often anymore. Finn managed to hold back a sigh the day it was Snap waltzing through the door with a wide grin instead of Poe. Then again, time was precious and it was stunning enough how much of it Poe had managed to spend with him. And in the end, Finn was just grateful for every single person on base who took enough interest in him to come and visit him, even take him outside for a short walk. He flashed Snap a smile, threw the jacket over himself and got up from his bed.

 

“So… you got any idea what a good gift for a friend would be?” The question was out before he could really think about it when they hobbled down the corridor of med bay. Well, Finn hobbled. Snap matched his pace to Finn’s, staying close to his side, hovering in case Finn might need any kind assistance. Based on how often his legs haven’t followed his intentions during the last days, Finn wasn’t too unhappy about that.

 

“A gift? Maybe a new roll of engine tape? That stuff is gone before you know it every damn time!” Snap laughed but Finn shook his head.

 

“That’s not really what I had in mind. It should be something bigger, you know?”

 

“Oh, so more like a plasma welder! No? A quatdriver then? An electro refractometer? Not that this is really a useful thing to have right now but it does look like something at least! Or you could just go with a complete new tool kit!”

 

Annoyed that their conversation didn’t really go anywhere, Finn jammed his right hand into the pocket of his jacket to pull out the ring. After his last conversation with Poe he’d felt too awkward wearing it around his neck so he had taken it off and stored it in there since then. It didn’t feel right either.

 

“I am thinking about a gift to thank Poe for-” Finn started but could never finish his sentences.

 

“WHOA DUDE! Way to go, what in the - You are unbelievable!” Snap beamed at him, eyes bright, his whole face lit up in excitement. There was lots of back slapping involved, that made Finn almost lose his footing, feet already sliding dangerously apart. He managed to hold onto the wall, bewilderment written all over his features.

 

“Man! I don’t believe you guys!” And with these words and a hefty laugh Snap left a very confused Finn right in front of the door to his room in med bay. Slowly, he reached up with both of his hands and fastened the chain around his neck again. It didn’t feel as wrong as carrying the ring in his pocket after all.

 

~

 

The moment Finn got released from medical care, he was on his way to the hangar, searching for a little beeping ball-shaped friend. No one he’d asked so far would let him know more about the ring but the reactions upon seeing it reached from stunned silence to happy outbursts. All obvious signs that Poe hadn’t bothered to tell him the story connected to this ring, yet not enough to get to the bottom of this mystery by himself. So there was only one left who might spill the secret.

 

“BB-8!” He called out for the droid as soon as he spotted it rolling around Poe’s x-wing, beeping intently. There wasn’t a single hint of the pilot anywhere to be seen. Finn sighed in relief as he kneeled down next to BB-8, rubbing his knuckles along the orange circle in response to the constant chirping.

 

“I’m happy to see you too, believe me! Listen, there is a thing I need your help with. You’ve got a moment?” Again, Finn pulled out the ring from underneath his shirt and held it in his outstretched fist so the droid could take a good look at it. Its little head bobbed back and forth, little sounds indicating the lense opening and closing as the ring got scanned thoroughly. The tiniest of all beeping sounds reached Finn’s ears and then BB-8 froze. Finn didn’t know if it was just lost in thought - if that could even happen to a droid - or malfunctioning.

 

“Hey? Hey, BB? So?” he carefully inquired after long moments of complete silence, finally spurring the droid back into action. 

 

“BEEREEEEEEEP!” screeched BB-8, head swishing around in circles on its teetering body. Surprised, Finn pulled his hands back but remained on his knees, just watching the spectacle without knowing why it was happening. There were lots of blubbering noises, none of which Jessica had prepared him for when she’d teached him binary. Then some beeping he might have been able to interpret if it had been slower and finally some sounds he did understand but not their meaning.

 

“What? What do you mean? I didn’t know it was that big of a deal, Poe said it wasn’t. What’s going on?” His questions only caused another wave of excited droid squeals, again too fast to understand and then BB-8 speeded off. Once again, Finn was left behind with more questions than before, helplessly staring after someone he’d hoped to get some answers from.

 

~

 

The base was bustling with hurried preparations, droids and maintenance worker running from one x-wing to the next, giving their best to allow the pilots to give their best on their next mission. Some last orders were shouted while everyone got into position, pilots disappearing in cockpits, droids boarding their assigned fighters, ground workers slowly clearing the space one after another.

 

Finn knew it wasn’t where he was supposed to be. Still restricted in his movements and in need to build up stamina he wasn’t much of a help, his body and mind still working on accepting the artificial spine in his back. Still, he couldn’t help himself. Whenever Poe got send out, Finn was there to watch him climb into his x-wing. Lately, General Organa stood next to him, watching in silence just like him. There was no explanation needed from either of them.

 

This time though, Poe caught them in the corner of his eye, turned towards them with his hand raised high into the air. His eyes were crinkled around his laugh, Finn could see that even from that distance. His heart clenched. It might have been one last greeting, one last farewell.

 

“Can I… Can I ask something personal?” It felt rude to be the one to end their companionate silence and he felt even worse about it when Leia gave a little sigh. But it had to be done, otherwise he might never get any kind of answer.

 

“Is it about Han Solo?” she asked.

 

“Um, no.”

 

“Kylo Ren?” She gave him a side glance, fierce and burning. Even if he had any questions about that man, at this point he wouldn’t dare to ask them.

 

“Er, no,” he said instead, “It’s about Poe.”

 

“Oh.”

 

He took off the necklace and handed it over to her, watched her inspect it with a smile. It was the last clue he needed to be absolutely convinced that Poe had lied about the ring not being anything special. Just when he opened his mouth to ask for confirmation of this, Leia raised her hand, successfully shutting him up before he could even speak.

 

“Some things are better heard from the people who are actually involved. Before you ask me about this, you should go talk to him once he’s back.” She let the ring fall back into his outstretched hand, gave him a soft pat on the shoulder and left him with a small chuckle.

 

Finn started to wonder what kind of resistance tradition it was to leave a confused man behind so he would have to deal with things all by himself.

 

~

 

It was a rather harsh confrontation after Poe returned from his successful mission. Finn refused their usual hug without explanation, instead just held up the ring with his outstretched arm, his fist bumping into Poe’s chest.

 

“We need to talk,” he declared with a stern face.

 

“Yeah, sure. About what…?” Poe asked but Finn could tell he was just pretending not to know. Poe’s eyes flickered to the side for a moment, he bit his lips and a small crease formed between his brows. He was too obvious so Finn just kept shoving the ring at him, daring him to take it back with a glare.

 

“No, no, please, keep it! Just keep it for me? Please, Finn.”

 

“Seems like it isn’t such a small but a rather important thing to you after all?” Finn pressed through gritted teeth, not happy about being left out from the secret about the mystery ring.

 

“Well… Yeah,” Poe finally admitted. He stared down at his own feet, fingers fumbling with his helmet. The silence between them was long and awkward, only filled with the sounds of Poe shuffling his feet. He felt guilty, guilty and insecure, he didn’t have to say it for Finn to know. He huffed out a sigh.

 

“Why don’t you tell me about it? When I know why it’s important to you, I can accept it by treasuring it just as much as you do,” Finn suggested after watching Poe suffering through his own emotions for a few more moments. He didn’t expect an ace pilot of the resistance to be this awkward, to be this… shy. And endearing. Finn couldn’t hold back a smile as Poe’s face lit up. Even his mouth dropped open as if he couldn’t believe what he’d just heard, that this conversation was really happening! He averted his eyes again when he started his explanation though, the top of his ears tinged just as red as his cheeks.

 

“It was my mother’s - her wedding ring. I wanted to… I am sorry, I should have told you instead of just giving it to you, sorry, I’ll take it back!” When Poe stretched out his hand, Finn just grabbed it, pulled him closer by it.

 

“I told you that I would treasure it as much as you do if I knew why it is important to you didn’t I? I intend to live up to my words.” He gave Poe a moment to reply something but he seemed to be speechless, his eyes wide and gleaming wet. A good reaction, Finn decided, so he continued. “Will you let me keep it?”

 

Poe nodded so fast his curls were bouncing all around his head, a choked up laugh forming on his lips.

 

“Yeah - yes. Yes! Of course, please, keep it it - it suits you!”

 

“Thank you.”

 

Finn didn’t know if it had been him who’d pulled Poe closer or if it’d been the other way around. But just a heartbeat later that tiny bit of distance that had remained between them was finally closed. He could feel lips pressing softly against his own, could feel how the ring was taken from his hand and slipped onto his pinky. Finally, it felt right on him.

 

He could feel how the laugh he smiled into their kiss got mirrored.


End file.
